Reflections on the Climate Emergency by Dr Laura Brearley

According to the Climate Emergency website, 800 local councils around the globe have declared climate emergencies, 43 of them in Australia. Bass Coast Shire Council recently became one of them. I was one of many community members who attended the council meeting when this decision was made. The room was overflowing with people who were aware of the significance of the vote. We witnessed the courage and foresight of our councillors, led by Cr Michael Whelan, who proposed the motion for Bass Coast to declare a climate emergency. He spoke compellingly of the risks of not taking action, both environmentally and economically.

​In his closing remarks, Cr Whelan
named his three grandchildren, one of whom was present in a pram, and
identified them as key motivators for his proposed motion.

It was a moment of humanity and
clarity at the heart of a formal, political process. In supporting the motion,
Cr Pamela Rothfield said “This is one of the most important decisions we can
make in this term as councillors.”

I am proud to be a member of a
community that is awake to what is at stake. We have joined 212 million
citizens around the world (as of August 25 2019) whose jurisdictions have also
voted to declare a climate emergency. We
now have the opportunity to be part of conversations and projects about our
individual and collective responsibilities and to plan how to most effectively
reach identified targets for renewable energy use and zero net emissions…

This call for immediate action is
central to the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement and the Climate Emergency
Declaration mobilisation and petition which was launched in Australia in May
2016.

In reflecting on the nature of
“emergency”, I am aware that it can lead to a sense of being overwhelmed and
even paralysed by the crisis. If we are to respond to the local and global
imperatives of climate change, how can we avoid being overcome by the enormity
of the issues? And what needs to underpin our actions?

I’m conscious that scientific
knowledge, ancient wisdom, community engagement, thoughtful consideration and
creative expression all have something important to contribute in this space.
In my view, to work together effectively on this, we need to take time to come
together as a community, to listen to the environment, to each other and to
knowledge holders from many different disciplines…

As a result of the leadership shown by
our council, we are now more equipped to respond collectively to this great
ethical challenge. We are a strong community and have chosen to live in a beautiful
part of the world. We love our children and grandchildren. It’s an amazing time
to be alive and to be part of what will emerge from this emergency.